Europaudvalget 2009-10
EUU Alm.del Bilag 429
Offentligt
APPENDIX: Cases of Prisoners of ConscienceA prisoner of conscience is a person who has not used violence oradvocated violence or hatred and is imprisoned or placed under otherphysical restriction (for example, house arrest) because of their political,religious or other conscientiously held beliefs, ethnic origin, sex, colour,language, national or social origin, economic status, birth, sexualorientation or other status.Hengameh Shahidi,a female journalist, began serving her six-year prison sentenceon 25 February 2010 after an appeal court upheld her conviction for charges related toher political and journalistic activities. She is held in Evin Prison, Tehran. HengamehShahidi who was an advisor on women’s issues to defeated presidential candidateMehdi Karroubi during his election campaign and is a member of his National Trustparty, was arrested on 30 June 2009 and released on bail in November.Ahmad Zeidabadi,a journalist and spokesperson for the Graduates’ Associationwhich has promoted reform and greater respect for human rights, was arrested on 21June 2009 and held incommunicado in Evin Prison until his appearance on 8 August2009 at the second session of a mass “show trial”. He was sentenced to six years’imprisonment in December 2009, five years of which are to be spent in internal exilein the city of Gonabad, and a lifetime ban on all social and political activities. At theend of January 2010, he was transferred to Reja’i Shahr Prison, where most non-political prisoners are housed. Despite his family having posted bail, he has not beenfreed.Ziaoddin (Zia) Nabaviis a member of the Council to Defend the Right to Education,a body set up in 2009 by students barred from further study on account of theirpolitical activities or their religious identity. He was arrested on 14 June and heldsince in Evin Prison, Tehran. Zia Nabavi was sentenced in January 2010 to 15 years’imprisonment and 74 lashes. He is held solely for the peaceful expression of his rightsto freedom of expression and association and because he is a relative of members ofthe banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), currently based in Iraq.Student leaderMajid Tavakkoliwas beaten and arrested on 7 December 2009 whileleaving Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran, where he had given a speechat a peaceful student demonstration marking Student Day in Iran. He has since beensentenced to eight years’ and six months’ imprisonment and is a prisoner ofconscience. Iranian men around the world took pictures of themselves wearing veilsafter a picture of Majid Tavakkoli wearing women’s clothes appeared on the websiteof a news agency close to the authorities, apparently intended to humiliate him.The Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR) has come under particular attacksince the disputed June 2009 presidential election. The CHRR has been accused oflinks to a banned opposition group, the PMOI, which it strenuously denies. Itmembers have been arbitrarily arrested, and at least some ill-treated while others havefled Iran. They have faced harassment by Iran’s intelligence services. AmnestyInternational fears that the Iranian authorities have decided to 'make an example' of
the CHRR by banning it and arresting its members. At the time of writing, tworemained detained:Shiva Nazar AhariandKouhyar Goudarzi.Prominent human rights defender,Emadeddin Baghiwas arrested on 28 December2009. His arrest followed the broadcasting of a two-year-old interview with clericAyatollah Montazeri, to mark the cleric’s death earlier that month. He was arrested ata time of mass protests in Tehran and other cities to mark the Shi'a religiousobservance of Ashoura. He remains held without charge. He had a heart attack on 20April and was taken to hospital. Once he recovered he was transferred back to prisonin solitary confinement. His personal doctor cannot visit him, only doctors from theprison can see him and give him medicines.Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand,a human rights defender and journalist from Iran'sKurdish minority, has been detained in Section 209 of Tehran's Evin Prison since hisarrest on 1 July 2007. In May 2008 he was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment byBranch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, later reduced to 10. He is a prisonerof conscience, held solely for the peaceful expression of his views. In March 2010 hemay have suffered a heart attack and the doctor in the medical facility of Evin Prisonformally requested that he be taken to an outside hospital for examination. Howeverthis request has been ignored.Cleric AyatollahSayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdiis a prisoner of conscience,held solely because of his peaceful religious beliefs on what appears to be politicallymotivated charges. He is being denied the medical care he needs for a number ofhealth problems, including Parkinson's Disease. On 13 August 2007, the SpecialCourt for the Clergy (SCC) sentenced him to one year’s imprisonment in Tehranfollowed by 10 years’ imprisonment in exile in the city of Yazd, central Iran. Whileprison medical staff have reportedly agreed to granting him access to medicaltreatment, officials from the Special Court for the Clergy have prohibited this.Ronak Safarzadeh,a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority, is detained in the women’ssection of Sanandaj Prison, Kordestan Province, north-west Iran. She is a member oftwo non-governmental organizations promoting women’s rights in Iran: the Campaignfor Equality and the Azar Mehr Women’s Organization of Sanandaj (which isaffiliated to the Campaign for Equality). On 5 August 2009, the Appeal Court ofKordestan Province confirmed the sentence issued against her. She was sentenced tofive years for acting against national security (for membership of the Free Life Partyof Kurdistan, PJAK – an armed Kurdish opposition group), another year forpropaganda against the government and seven months for illegally crossing a border.Ronak was acquitted of the charge of “being at enmity with God”. In January 2009,Ronak Safarzadeh was further charged with participating in a hunger strike along withother prisoners in October 2008. Amnesty International believes that she is a prisonerof conscience, detained solely for her work for women’s rights and the rights of Iran'sKurdish minority.Mansour Ossanluis the leader of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and SuburbsBus Company (Syndica-ye Sherkat-e Vahed). He is currently serving a five-yearprison sentence for “acts against national security”. The charges stem from hispeaceful work to obtain better conditions for workers in Iran and to enddiscriminatory laws and practices that curtail workers’ rights in Iran. He had been
arrested and detained several times and severely beaten in custody. He was initiallyheld in Tehran’s Evin Prison but in August 2008 he was transferred to Raja’i-Shahrprison in the city of Karaj which houses criminals convicted of violent crimes. He hassuffered from serious medical problems, including retinal damage resulting frombeatings he received during a previous detention. His health condition remains aconcern. In April 2010 he received a medical check-up at clinic outside the prison–however he was shackled hand and foot during the visit. Amnesty Internationalconsiders him a prisoner of conscience who is being detained on vaguely wordedcharges in order to halt his efforts to build strong trade unions capable of defendingthe human rights of workers.